Bigger events are going to be played next week, but there are a number of tournaments scheduled for this week as players look to get some experience under their belt in what is the shortest part of the year on a single surface.
Rain is the biggest threat to the tournaments this week with even a little amount making it a very slippery and dangerous surface on which to play. It does look a wet week at all of the events and that will force players to win two matches in a single day to keep the events on track.
Maxime Cressy-Dominic Stricker over 23.5 games: The courts in Stuttgart are playing pretty quickly in the early Rounds of the grass court season and this is a match that features two players that will be confident in their serve. Maxime Cressy is playing his first match back on the surface since the grass court season in 2021 and it is a dangerous time to face a Qualifier in Dominic Stricker who beat Aslan Karatsev in one of two wins to take his place in the main draw.
Last year the 20 year old Swiss player was given a direct spot in the main draw in Stuttgart and he reached the Quarter Final before losing to a grass court specialist in Sam Querrey. On his way, Dominic Stricker beat Radu Albot and Hubert Hurkacz with the latter win looking particularly impressive when you think the big serving Polish player reached the Wimbledon Semi Final just a few weeks later.
He was well beaten in Halle, but Dominic Stricker will feel pretty happy back on the grass having earned those two wins in the Qualifiers too. He has won 66% of his service points behind serve and that has led to 82% of service games being held on the surface and I do think the lefty will cause problems for Maxime Cressy who has struggled as a return player on the grass courts in his limited time on the surface.
The American has only won 31% of return points played in his nine previous grass court matches and Cressy has only broken serve in 13% of return games played. I expect Dominic Stricker to be able to have plenty of success behind his serve in this one, although the challenge for the Swiss player is trying to pressure the Maxime Cressy serve.
Maxime Cressy has been slightly more effective behind serve than Stricker with 68% of service points won in grass court matches and that has led to holds in 87% of service games played.
Like his opponent in the First Round, Dominic Stricker has had a tough time getting to grips with the return of serve and has only broken in 19% of his return games played in the six grass court matches played in his young career. That number has been significantly boosted by his strong player in the Qualifiers in this tournament, but I do think the server is going to be on top in this one.
Last season, Dominic Stricker played three matches in Stuttgart and the first two sets in each of those went to a tie-breaker. I think he will serve well enough to be competitive, but the same can be said for Maxime Cressy and it may lead to a First Round match that surpasses what is a big total line set for this one.
Ugo Humbert - 2.5 games v Arthur Rinderknech: Two Frenchmen are coming off disappointing showings at their home Grand Slam, but there is a feeling that Ugo Humbert is going to be much happier being back on the grass rather than on the clay courts.
It has been a difficult season for Ugo Humbert who had been as high as Number 25 in the World Rankings twelve months ago, but who has slipped back to Number 48.
That means he will be under pressure in this grass court season considering Ugo Humbert reached the Quarter Final here in Stuttgart before winning a major title in Halle. That means he has plenty of points to defend to avoid another significant drop down the World Rankings, but Humbert has enjoyed playing on the grass courts where is serve and ability to get to the net are very effective.
He is much more experienced than Arthur Rinderknech who is playing in his third ever grass court match, but who is also only a few places behind Humbert in the World Rankings having had a more consistent season.
Last season Arthur Rinderknech went 1-1 in Halle and the numbers are from a very small sample and hard to really judge.
However, I do think Rinderknech has shown his serve can be effective on the hard courts and he should be able to earn plenty of free points on this surface, although the return is not one of any real note. It is the return where Ugo Humbert could be able to exert some scoreboard pressure by putting Arthur Rinderknech under the cosh when it comes to the returning aspect of his tennis and I do think Ugo Humbert can get off to a strong start.
The higher Ranked Frenchman is not exactly known for his own return on the grass courts, but I do think he will find the one break he may need to cover this mark and I will back him to do that in the First Round in Stuttgart.
MY PICKS: Maxime Cressy-Dominic Stricker Over 24.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Ugo Humbert - 2.5 Games @ 1.90 Bet365 (2 Units)
Emma Raducanu - 3.5 Games @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Shuai Zhang - 4.5 Games @ 2.10 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Katie Boulter - 0.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Weekly Update: 2-3, - 2.36 Units (10 Units Staked, - 23.60% Yield)
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